-1Author's Note- Here's the chapter where BB's bravery comes into play. I feel like the characters were OOC last chapter, so I'll try to keep them in, however Beast Boy is going through some struggles in this story, so he'll always be a little OOC, call it maturing, but only to the point that he feels he must prove himself.
Chapter 2- Deal With the Devil (Part One)
Beast Boy looked at Raven as she stood up, preparing to leave his room. He didn't know what to do, he wanted her to stay, to forget the door and keep talking to him, she was starting to make him feel better. Inside, he began reconstructing his bones, and fixing the breaks. It was a part of his powers he kept secret, morphing bones into other forms also healed them a hell of a lot faster than time and Ibuprofen did.
Of course, you didn't do it purposely, and it took nearly killing yourself to figure it out. He thought to himself.
"Raven, wait!" Beast Boy said, forgetting all the anger he'd held for her moments ago. He flinched as his bones started to mend. He could by no means be called a healer, but he could save some work for the medics. He braced himself against the bed and stood up, looking over at an anxious Raven.
"What Beast Boy?" Her shrewd and characteristic monotonous voice back as well. He faltered, how would she take what he was about to say?
"I . . . I don't." He stammered, unsure of himself all of a sudden.He just didn't want her to leave, not without finishing what they had started. She couldn't fight him and then drop it! His emotions were flaring up again . . . . it was all too confusing.
"Well, can it wait? I'm going to figure out what the hell is going on." She said, turning toward his doorway.
"NO, I mean, don't go. I, uh, I don't want you to go." He finished. Raven looked back at him blankly; did he look as stupid as he felt right now? "I mean, it might be dangerous and I wouldn't want anything to happen." He added.Maybe fighting right now wasn't what he needed.
Raven nodded slowly, bringing her brand of cool logic to the table, "Beast Boy, I'm a superhero. I face trouble everyday, I can take care of myself." She said, turning toward the door and stepping to it. It slid open and Raven exited, walking down the hallway. Beast Boy didn't need his super amplified hearing to notice the small call she made back to him.
"Besides, if you're so worried about my safety, why don't you come with me?"
Beast Boy and Raven walked to the front door, meeting up with a tired looking Starfire, a disturbed Cyborg and a testy Robin.
"Yo, what's goin' on here?" Cyborg asked, rubbing his eye with his mechanical arm. Starfire shrugged,
"It is not strange that a friend come knocking this early is it not?" She asked. Robin shook his head,
"Or maybe it's not a friend at all Star." He moved forward to the door, the rest of the team behind him.
It slid open amidst the green glow of Starfire's ready Starbolts and the blue hum of Cyborg's Sonic Cannon. Directly in front of the teens was a man.
Well, not so simply put, it wasn't really a man, but at first glance you'd think it was a man. Not just any man though, a rather well-to-do man by appearances. He had on black Italian cut Pierre Cardon shoes, top of the line designer cufflinks. He wore an all black suit, clean and silky with a nicely pressed white dress shirt underneath. His tie was all black and sat perfectly on his collar. He had a handsome face, and his eyes were covered with sunglasses, even though it was still dark outside.
"Nice to see you've finally come to the door Titans, I hope that I didn't interrupt anyone's sleep." He said, stepping forward and into the domain of the Tower. All four Titans moved aside as the man brashly entered, briefcase in hand. The door shut behind him slowly, an ominous warning.
"Who are you?" Robin asked, his hand fidgeting near his utility belt. The eyes on his ubiquitous mask narrowed as he glanced over the stranger.
Beast Boy stood back. His eyes darting between the eerie stranger and Raven. He'd come down here to protect her, and now he was beginning to think that the playful joke just might turn out to be more necessary. He wasn't sure what he could do in the shape he was in, he still wasn't feeling well from his training session. Though his ribs had healed already, the cuts, sores and bruises were still fresh underneath his uniform. The man's voice was small and flowing; immediately criminal, every word sounded like that of a sleazy used car salesman.
"I am a person who is here to help you with your problem Titans, my name is Lucifer, and I have a proposition for you."
"Oh, great make a deal with a guy named Lucifer." Raven's sarcasm kicked in immediately, it was almost as if it were on autopilot. Beast Boy on the other hand wasn't in the mood for jokes, everything about his animal senses told him that the next few minutes would bring trouble; and a whole lot of it.
"What kind of problem; and what kind of deal?" Robin asked, his hands still near his belt. The man, Lucifer held his hand out in front of the group, palm upward. He began to twirl it around and suddenly, a small orb appeared suspended above his hand like a hologram.
"This, my friends, is a model of your planet." He pointed toward a small orb over the holographic Earth. "This, is Meteor, the bane of your existence."
"Yes, now please do tell how you plan to rectify this problem?" Starfire said snappily. Lucifer smiled.
"Why pretty young miss, I'll tell you how. I just happen to have the key to fixing your problem, I know how to get rid of Meteor, but I need heroes."
"So why us, why not the Justice league or something. If your plan is so foolproof, why come to Titans Tower?" Cyborg asked. Lucifer shook his head slowly, his eerie calm never leaving.
"Because the justice League are being foolish, foolish and refusing my help. They have their own plan, a giant gun. Geez, will they ever learn."
Robin got defensive immediately, "Well, if they don't need you, we don't either. Leave." He said acidly. Robin stormed to the door and pushed a button, allowing it to open.
Lucifer looked at the door, and then to Robin before turning to address the entire team, "I understand, but get some sleep on it Titans. Your planet is at stake. I'll give you until Midnight tonight to make you're decision. I'll be out here, in front of your Tower. " Lucifer said before turning and walking out calmly with a briefcase in hand.
Beast Boy turned to see Raven already heading up toward her room. He didn't want her to go, he wanted more time with her, more conversation with her. He wanted more her.
"Night BB." Cyborg's voice called out to him as the rest of the Titans headed for bed.
"Yeah, Night Cy." He said before sauntering off toward his own room; his infatuation could wait.
Beast Boy landed quickly, scouting out the area. The bank directly in front of him was being looted by three members of the Hive Five: Kyd Wykkyd, Mammoth, and Gizmo. Landing right next to him was Raven, glancing down at him briefly before scoping out her targets as well. He remembered how he got there in the first place.
Beast Boy awoke to the flashing and ringing of his Titans signal. He didn't have much time to contemplate what was happening, he just jumped out of bed quickly. His clothes still on and for the most part intact, Beast Boy bolted out of his door and immediately to the Common Room.
He entered to the backs of three other Teens, all looking up at their leader for guidance. Robin's rhetoric was concise and terse, "HIVE, downtown."
"Hey Rae." Beast Boy said calmly, meanwhile his insides were anything but calm. He felt so strange about the previous night, although nothing happened, something did. Something changed and it was only Raven who could stop it. He felt his primal urges growing, however this time it wasn't into a werewolf-like howling beast, it was into a man.
"Hello yourself Beast Boy." She said curtly, her monotone returning like a boomerang in Australia. Beast Boy opened his mouth to say something else, but very quickly, a wave of energy flew toward them.
Beast Boy leapt out of the way as Raven's soul self sifted through the building below them. Gizmo's sonic wave destroyed the spot Beast Boy had been standing merely a moment earlier.
"Nice dodge ya' snotstuffers!" His childish voice rang out. Beast Boy didn't like the incessant whine of Gizmo's drawl, yet it continued. "How'd you like another one!" Beast Boy moved quickly as another wave flew toward him.
He crossed from rooftop to rooftop, ducking and dodging before transforming smoothly into a cheetah to outrun Gizmo's attacks. He skidded to a halt and looked downward as the barrage ceased, below him Cyborg had been doing battle with the brainy technician, leaving the Grass Stain to avoid injury. He looked around, Robin and Starfire were handling Wykkyd pretty nicely, and Raven was up against Mammoth.
He eyed the battle, Raven's smaller stature giving her the upper hand when it came to dodging. Mammoth didn't know what he was getting into, the cheetah grinned. Raven moved flawlessly in battle, making her falls look like graceful dives, and her attacks look like invitation to join her. She truly was beautiful, there was no denying it. Beast Boy watched as she phased into the ground, appearing behind Mammoth on the other side of the street. He watched as Mammoth picked up a fire hydrant and threw it at Raven, missing horribly and hitting the wall above her. He was off by at least fifteen feet!
Wait! Beast Boy knew what he was doing! Chunks from the wall above Raven broke off, falling down toward the girl. As she looked up, and away from her attacker, Mammoth grabbed a nearby car.
Beast Boy jumped off the roof onto Kyd Wykkyd, who was facing Robin and Starfire. He landed, paws first, onto her back, launching the sorceress face first into the ground. Not breaking stride he leapt forward, passing Starfire and Robin who made their way toward the incapacitated villain. Beast Boy smoothly passed through two similar beams of energy, passing through the sonic cannon duel of Cyborg and Gizmo. He didn't care, he had somewhere to be, someone to save.
The car was in the air and Beast Boy wasn't even close to Raven. Would she see it? Would he get there in time? The cheetah's pace was faster than the car, he was going to make it! Beast Boy's front paws landed on the ground about ten feet from Raven, who had just looked forward to see a rather ugly SUV headed toward her. Beast Boy couldn't hit her as a cheetah, he'd ripped a hole through her, his claws would cut her, and his force would break her!
In mid-leap he transformed into the softest thing he could think of at the moment: himself. In an instant he threw Raven to the ground, feet away from him before he saw the undercarriage of a truck, felt every bone in his body crush, and saw everything fade away.
Raven walked down the hallway, heading for the Medlab. Cyborg had sent her to her room to rest after the battle with the Hive, but she had other things on her mind.
Beast Boy.
Why did he do something to ridiculously brave? Why would he take a car for her. Punch? Sure. Bullet? Maybe. Car? That's unexpected. Why would he do something so notoriously Beast Boyish in a situation of life and death.
Not 'death' Raven, he's not going to die. She told herself, but her mind knew differently. There was a good chance he was going to die as a matter of fact. Green or not, Beast Boy was human. He didn't have super strength like Star, or big flexing muscles like Cyborg. He was a boy, a boy who had a SUV thrown into him.
Raven clenched her eyes shut at the thought of it; she'd seen everything. It replayed a million times in her head already.
Raven suddenly felt a push from her left side as the car headed toward her. She looked over, falling to the ground immediately, only to see a green blur. Her elbows scrapped the sidewalk as she watched his hands crossed in front of his chest like an 'X'; it wouldn't stop what was coming. The SUV hit Beast Boy's body, pushing it into the brick wall not two feet behind him. His neck folded like a piece of paper and his skull cracked; the blood sprayed from his arms onto Raven's face. The wall didn't give way immediately, it held for about a millisecond before collapsing under the weight and letting Beast Boy fly through it, truck in tow.
She could feel something behind her eyes starting to well up, and she wouldn't let it. Taking a deep breath the monotone witch calmly regained her composure. She turned the next corner, following the well-known path to the Medlab when she ran into something.
Actually, it was someone, a big someone.
"Nah-uh Rae. You're on Bed Rest." The big brotherly tone of Cyborg rang through her ears. Raven looked up at the big guy, thankful that he cared but annoyed that he was getting in the way.
"I was just getting some tea. Is that against the rules of bed rest?" She asked softly. A small lie and a sweet attitude could get her out of this without any questions hopefully.
"Or maybe you were going to the Medlab to see how Beast Boy's doing." He said knowingly. The question playing in Raven's head happened to be, how did he know?
"Cy-" She started, but stopped when she felt Cyborg's large arms grabbed her. He calmly lifted her in the air and turned her body around, facing away from him and the Medlab.
"I don't want to hear it. He's stable, I told you that I'll let you see him after you rest. Tonight the Justice League is shooting their cannon at Meteor so this thing'll be over. Do you wanna miss it?" He said in a commanding sort of voice.
"Miss a bunch of grown superhero men comparing gun sizes. Of course I don't wanna miss it, it's not a measuring contest at all." Her words saturated in commonplace sarcasm. Nevertheless she continued on her path, the path away from the Medlab. And Beast Boy she added as an afterthought.
Raven stopped abruptly, looking around to see if anyone was present, then proceeded to let her soul self take form. She traveled through the walls of the tower, moving silently and immediately into the Medlab. The only light on in the room was a blue one that was on Beast Boy's monitor. Next to the Monitor of course was Beast Boy himself. He was unconscious, breathing shallowly, and bloodied still. Next to him was a large wet spot where Starfire had cried by his side for about two hours, and on the other side was a stuffed animal she'd given him in hopes that he'd wake soon.
As of now he was still in a coma. Raven stepped closer to the boy, looking around him. His clothes had been trashed, and he was only in a pair of white, clean boxers. His body was green with large purple bruises covering it like a cow's spots, and his face was cut up pretty badly. She knew that what she was about to do was a very bad idea, at least for her it was, yet she held her hands over him anyway.
"Beast Boy." She whispered softly, positive that he wouldn't hear her rhetoric. "You didn't have to. " She said, a blue light emanating from her fingertips. The glow entrapped the Changeling's entire body, sparkling along.
"You really didn't have to be so stupid." She continued, unable to control her words, "You're an idiot. You're so stupid, so, so stupid. I have psychic powers for goodness sakes, you could've told me to teleport away, why would you jump in the way?" The healing continued more than she had originally planned, but she was on a roll. She didn't know what to do, but she had words she had to get off her chest.
"Why would you transform into yourself anyway? Why would you do that? Why would you try to kill yourself, that's what it was Beast Boy, it was suicide. I get it, you're strong, you're brave, I understand. You don't have to come next to death to prove it everyday Beast Boy! You can't! What if I would've lost you huh? Then what? What good is bravery if you don't exist! You're so stupid!" She stopped; she was getting emotional. The swelled up tears had found some way out without her noticing, and her hands had continued healing the boy more than she had wanted to.
Raven pulled her hands down and collapsed to the ground, sitting next to Beast Boy's bed. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her intake. Her hand rose and wiped a tear from her cheek. Was she really crying? Since when did she cry? Ravens didn't cry, so she didn't right? Raven looked over at Beast Boy; bruises gone and bloodied cuts healed. She'd done a bang up job, and overused her powers at the same time. Great!
Raven stood up slowly, heading for the door. Perhaps it was time to listen to Cyborg; bed sounded so good about now.
Author's Note- Wow, well, I just broke up this chapter and the next one. Imagine double this size. What would you guys rather want, a really long chapter? Or shorter ones (Like this size) posted about once every week or week and a half? It's up to my reader's, I'll do whatever. And THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed, especially telling me about BB's past, I appreciate it.